Loose document retrieval for pneumatic carrier bank teller system

ABSTRACT

Pneumatic conveyor bank teller systems are usually provided with a safety door to protect the teller from an arriving document carrier. Automatic controls release the door only when the carrier has arrived at the teller station or prevent operation of the system when the door is opened. The invention provides for the blowing back toward the teller of loose documents, inadvertently deposited in the tube by a customer, through an alternative mode of operation which functions with the carrier absent from the system and with the teller door opened. The specific embodiment minimizes the chance of teller injury through inadvertent use of the alternative mode with the carrier in the system.

United States Patent 1 Smith et a1.

[ LOOSE DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL FOR PNEUMATIC CARRIER BANK TELLER SYSTEM [75]Inventors: Douglas G. Smith, Pompton Lakes;

Zoltan Gagyi, Bloomfield; Donald Ross, Hawthorne, all of NJ.

[73] Assignee: The Mosler Safe Company,

Hamilton, Ohio 22 Filed: Oct. 7, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 187,315

[52] U.S. Cl. 243/19, 243/38 [51] Int. Cl. B65g 51/32 [58] Field 01Search 243/1, 19, 24, 2,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,763,446 9/1956 Hanson243/19 7 2,912,066 11/1959 Ellithorpe 243/1 3,512,735 5/1970 Hallstrom243/19 Pan [P 0/5/4/24 58 M g 0/; A070 670? L ,5 52

June 12, 1973 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,139,681 1/1969 GreatBritain 243/19 [57] ABSTRACT Pneumatic conveyor bank teller systems areusually provided with a safety door to protect the teller from anarriving document carrier. Automatic controls release the door only whenthe carrier has arrived at the teller station or prevent operation ofthe system when the door is opened. The invention provides for theblowing back toward the teller of loose documents, inadvertentlydeposited in the tube by a customer, through an alternative mode ofoperation which functions with the carrier absent from the system andwith the teller door opened. The specific embodiment minimizes thechance of teller injury through inadvertent use of the alternative modewith the carrier in the system. 1

12 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures Pwlzemed June 12, 1973 LOOSE DOCUMENTRETRIEVAL FOR PNEUMATIC CARRIER BANK TELLER SYSTEM tween a remotecustomer unit and a central unit within\ a business establishment. Inbanking systems, the remote unit is frequently located adjacent acustomer drive-in lane so that the customer may transact bankingbusiness from his automobile. The central unit is located within thebank building and is manned by a bank teller. The conveyor systems whichconnect the two units transport the tangible objects in capsules orcarriers through pneumatic tubes. Some systems provide a pair of tubes,each of which serves to transport the carrier in a different directionbetween the two units. Other systems provide a single tube to which isreversably connected an air supply which is operable to selectivelytransport the tube in either of both directions through the tube betweenthe two units. Such a system of the latter type is disclosed in US. Pat.No. 2,912,066 of Ellithorpe entitled DRIVE-IN SERVICE APPA- RATUS.

The carriers transported through the tube, when loaded, commonly weighfrom 3 to 4 pounds and, upon being transported through the tube, willarrive at the terminal unit with considerable momentum. If either thecustomer or the teller were to have his hand within the carrierreceiving compartment at the time of arrival of the carrier at hisrespective unit, injury could result. For this purpose, such systems areprovided with a variety of safety features for insuring that access tothe re- I ceiving compartment is not possible at the time of arrival ofthe carrier at the compartment. Such safety features usually providevarious interlocks or automatic control circuitry which conditions oneof the two events, that is the arrival of the carrier and a closure of adoor to the compartment, on the other.

It has been found, in the use of such systems, that customers will onoccasion deposit documents directly into the tube rather than insertingthem into the carrier. When this occurs, the teller, who is not yetaware of what the customer has done, may allow the system to operatethrough a mode in which the carrier is returned from the customer unitto the teller. Upon receiving the empty carrier, the teller will realizewhat the customer has done and that, in all likelihood, the documents,which may include checks or currency to be deposited or cashed, depositslips or withdrawal slips, etc., most probably are lying loose withinthe tube somewhere between the units. In a normal system, particularlyone provided with the safety and interlock features discussed above, itis extremely difficult to recover these documents.

To alleviate this problem, several prior art devices have incorporatedwhat are commonly referred to as money traps which function to trapthese documents at the customer unit. These devices are usually somewhatcomplicated and expensive, but the most important drawback is that theyusually require that the teller leave his booth and proceed to thecustomer unit to retrieve the documents from the money trap. This is anespecially time-consuming operation and defeats to a degree the primaryobjective of such remote banking systems, that of servicing customers ina quick and efficient manner.

It is a primary objective of the present invention to provide, in such aremote customer service system, for the removal of these extra carrierdocuments from a pneumatic tube and to transport these to the clerk or.teller unit. A more specific objective of the present invention is toprovide such a feature in an automated system, or at leastsemi-automated system, wherein, for example, access to the carriercompartment at the teller unit is conditioned on certain normaloperating events such as the presence of the carrier at the teller unit,or for example the operation of the system is conditioned upon theclosure of a protective door at the teller unit.

It is a further objective of the present invention to provide such afeature which has a low likelihood of being inadvertently actuated in amanner which would override the normal safety features under certainconditions.

Accordingly, the present invention is predicated in part upon theconcept of providing a document blowback feature which operates to forceloose documents through the tube to the teller unit. The presentinvention is further predicated in part upon the concept of providingfor the actuation of the pneumatic power mechanism in an automaticsystem under conditions which differ from those under which the normalautomatic operation depends. Specifically, the present in ventionprovides for the actuation of the pneumatic means to force air throughthe tube toward the teller and to allow the teller door to be openedwhen the carrier has not arrived in a system which has normal protectivecircuitry to prevent such operation The procedure for initiating such afeature provides for the deliberate execution by the teller of severalsteps which would not be taken during normal system operation and whichwould be highly unlikely to be taken during any inadvertent manipulationof the system by a teller. This system results in the advantages ofovercoming the problems of the prior art as set forth above whileeliminating the need for money traps and further provides suchadvantages without materially affecting the safety of the teller orincreasing his likelihood of injury.

These and other objectives and advantages of the present invention willbe more readily apparent from the following detailed description of thedrawings illustrating the loose document retrieval concept of thepresent invention embodied in the drive-in banking 'sys-. tem of thesingle two-way tube type with teller protection controls.-

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammaticelevational view of a pneumatic bank dispatch system embodyingprinciples of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one preferred electrical controlcircuit for the system of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 1, the pneumatic dispatch system 10 is incorporated ina bank drive in teller window system and is provided with a teller unit11 located within the bank building and a remote customer unit 12located adjacent a drive-in lane outside of the bank building. The units11 and 12 are connected by a single pneumatic tube 13 through whichpasses a carrier 14 in either direction between the two units 11 and 12.The carrier 14 is transported through the tube 13 by a pneumaticpressure differential applied across the tube 13. Transportation of thecarrier from the teller unit 11 to the customer unit 12 will behereinafter referred to as dispatch of the carrier, while transportationfrom the customer unit 12 to the teller unit 11 will be referred to asreturn of the carrier.

The customer unit 12 is provided with a cabinet 21 having an opening 22therein through which a carrier 14 is removable from and insertable intothe cabinet 21 by a customer. At the opening 22 is provided a horizontalextension 23 of the tube 13. The extension 23 connects at one end to thetube 13 and at the other end to an air source 24 through a conduit 25.The air source 24 includes a turbo blower 31 which has an inlet duct 32and an outlet duct 33. The ducts 32 and 33 are respectively connected tothe conduit through a pair of solenoid valves 34 and 35, respectively.The ducts 32 and 33 are also vented to atmosphere through a pair ofvalves 36 and 37, respectively. An opening of valves 34 and 37 causesthe application of negative pressure to the conduit 25 to exhaust airfrom the tube 13 and thus to transport the carrier in a dispatch mode.Alternatively, an opening of the valves and 36 causes the application ofpositive pressure to the conduit 25 to transport the carrier 14 throughthe tube 13 in a return mode. A motor 38 is provided to drive the blower31 through a belt or chain drive 39. The motor 38 is operated by a motorstarter 38' (not shown in FIG. 1).

The unit 12 is provided with electrical signalling means which include apush button 41. This button 41 is accessible by a customer from hisautomobile when parked in a lane adjacent the teller unit so that he maysignal the teller by pressing the button 41. The unit 12 is alsoprovided with a carrier present limit switch 42 which provides anelectrical signal for a control system in response to the presence ofthe carrier 14 at the opening 22.

The customer unit 12 as illustrated in FIG. -1 is in simplifieddiagrammatic form. Such a customer unit is usually provided with severaladditional features, none of which are pertinent to the invention of thepresent application and hence have not been specifically disclosedherein. Such features include a closure for the opening 22 whichmay bein the form of an extendable tray which operates to present the carrierto a customer. Such a customer unit is disclosed in the pending US.application of Alex Schwartz and Zoltan Gagyi for TRANSFER STATION FORPNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYOR SYSTEM", Ser. No. 861,686, filed Sept. 29, I969.

The teller unit 11 includes a cabinet 51 containing the mechanicalcomponents of the unit 11 and a control module 52. The module 52 isprovided with the controls which the teller needs to operate the system.Those controls which are relevant to'the present invention are the poweron-off switch 53 and a mode control switch 54 which is effective toselect either fully automatic operating mode which is the normal mode ofoperation of the system, or manually controlled dispatch and returnmodes for actuating the manual override for retrieving loose documents.

The cabinet 51 includes a compartment 55 which communicates with theatmosphere through a vent 56 ,and which further communicates with thetellers end of the pneumatic tube 13. A carrier receiving support 59 isprovided in the compartment 55. The support 59 will retain a carrieruntil it is either drawn into the tube 13 through the operation of theblower 31 in dispatch mode or until it is manually removed through anopening 60 by the teller. A door 62 is slideably mounted in a verticalpath within the cabinet 51 and is positioned to move upwardly to closethe opening 60 during operation of the system to protect the teller andto move downwardly to expose the compartment 55 and permit access by theteller to the support 59 to move a carrier therefrom or to insert acarrier thereinto.

The door 62 is attached to a cable 63 which forms a closed loop about aset of three idler pulleys 64 and a fourth driven pulley 65 which isattached to the output shaft 66 of a door control motor 67. The door 62will, in absence of any restraining force on the cable 63, drop underthe influence of gravity to its lower positon as illustrated in FIG. 1.The motor 67 is energized in a single direction which is illustrated asclockwise in FIG. 1 to raise the door from its open to its closedposition. When the motor is de-energized, the force exerted on the cable63 is insufficient to retain the door in its upward position. To soretain the door in a closed position is provided a brake 71 which ispositioned to normally lock the pulley 65. The brake is released by theenergizatin of a door brake solenoid 72.

Signals to the automatic controls of the system are derived from threelimit switches in the cabinet 51. These limit switches include acarrier-present limit switch 75 which is positioned in the compartment55 with its actuator extending onto the support 59 to be activated bythe presence of a carrier 14 in the support 59. A door-closed limitswitch 76 is provided at the upper end of the compartment 55 to detectthat the door 62 is closed. Similarly, the door-open limit switch 77 isprovided at the lower end of the door track to detect that the door 62is in the opened position.

One embodiment of a control system for use in the present invention isillustrated in FIG. 2. This system includes power lines for supplyinglow voltage control power, one phase AC power, and three phase AC power.The voltage supply includes a common or ground line 80, a set of threeAC power lines 71 connected to a source of AC power, and a low voltagepower line 82. One of the lines 81, 81-1, provides a source of one phaseAC power.

A master power relay 83 is connected in series with the contact 53-1 ofthe power on-off switch 53 between the power leads and 82. Contact 83-1of the relay 83 is connected in series with the common line 80. Thiscontact is normally opened and, when the relay 83 is energized, willclose to connect the common line 80' to the common line 80 to energizethe system.

A pair of mode control relays are provided which include a dispatch modecontrol relay 84 and a return mode control relay 85. The dispatch relay84, when energized, causes the system to operate in dispatch mode.Alternatively, the return relay 85, when energized, causes the system tooperate in return mode.

An in-flight relay 86 is provided which is energized whenever the systemis operating in either mode. A teller door close relay 87 is provided tocause the teller door 62 to be drien to a closed position during certainportions of operation of the system. A dispatchcomplete relay 88 and acarrier-removed-fromcustomer-unit relay 89 are provided to initiatecertain internal control functions to effect automatic direction modechanges during automatic mode operation,

The dispatch relay 84 is connected between the control voltage line 82and a dispatch relay energizing circuit 91. The circuit 91 includesthree parallel circuits which connect with the common line 80'. Theseparallel circuits include an automatic mode dispatch initiating circuit92, a manual dispatch mode initiating circuit 93, and a dispatch modeholding circuit 94. The circuit 92 includes a set of normally openedcontacts 75-1 of the teller carrier present limit switch 75 connected inseries with a set of normally closed contacts 89-1 of thecarrier-removed relay 89. The manual dispatch mode initiating circuit 93includes a set of normally closed contacts 7 5-2 of the teller carrierpresent mode switch 75 connected in series with a normally opened set ofcontacts 54-1 of the mode switch 54. The c0ntacts 54-1 will close whenthe mode switch 54 is switched to the manual dispatch position. Thedispatch relay holding circuit 94 includes a set of normally closedcontacts 41-1 of the customer carrier present limit switch 42 connectedin series with normally opened contacts 84-1 of the dispatch relay 84and a set of normally closed contacts 85-2 of the return mode relay 85.

The return mode relay 85 is connected in series with a return mode relayenergizing circuit 96 between lines 80' and 82. The circuit 96 includesa holding circuit 97 and automatic and manual return mode initiatingcircuits 98 and 99, respectively, which are connected in parallel witheach other and in series with normally closed contacts 77-1 of the dooropen limit switch 77.

Since the door 62 is opened in FIG. 1, the contacts 77-1 are illustratedas opened in FlG. 2. The circuit 97 includes a normally closed contact75-3 of the teller present carrier limit switch 75 connected in serieswith normally closed contact 84-2 of the dispatch mode relay 84 andnormally opened contact 85-3 of the return mode relay 85. The automaticreturn mode energizing circuit includes normally opened contact 42-3 ofthe customer carrier present limit switch 42 connected in series withnormally opened contacts 88-4 of the dispatch complete relay 88 and 89-2of the carrier removed relay 89. The manual return mode initiatingcircuit 99 includes normally opened contact 54-2 of the mode switch 54connected in series with normally opened contact 86-1 of the in-flightrelay 86. The contacts 54-2 will close when the mode switch 54 isswitched to the manual return mode position.

The in-flight relay 86 is connected in series with an in-flight relayenergizing circuit 101 between lines 82 and 80. The circuit 101 includesparallel connected normally opened contacts 84-3 and 85-4 of thedispatch and return mode relays 84 and 85, respectively.

The teller door control relay 87 is connected in series, between lines80' and 82, with normally closed contact 75-4 of the teller carrierpresent limit switch 75 and a door close relay energizing circuit 102.The circuit 102 includes parallel connected normally opened contacts823-] and 86-2 of dispatch complete relay 88 and in-flight relay 86,respectively. 7

The dispatch complete relay 88 is connected in series with a pair ofcircuits 103 and 104 between the line 82 and line 80. Circuit 103includes normally opened holding contact 88-2 of the relay 88 connectedin parallel with normally opened contact 42-3 of the customer carrierpresent limit switch 42. The circuit 104 includes normally openedcontact 75-6 of the teller carrier present limit switch connected inparallel with normally opened contact 76-1 of the teller door closedlimit switch 76.

The carrier-removed relay 89 is connected in series with normally closedcontact 42-4 of the customer carrier present limit switch 42 andnormally opened contact 88-3 of the dispatch complete relay 88 betweenlines 82 and 80'. A holding contact 89-3 of the relay 89 s is connectedacross the contact 42-4 of switch 42.

A turbo starter coil 100 is provided connected in series with normallyopened contact 86-3 of the in-flight relay 86 between the common line80' and the one phase power line 81-1.

Solenoid windings 34' and 37' of the solenoids 34 and 37 respectivelyare connected in parallel with each other and together in series withnormally closed contact -6 of return relay 85 and normally openedcontact 84-4 of dispatch relay 84 between common line 80' and one phasepower line 81-1.

Windings 35 and 36' of solenoid valves 35 and 36 respectively areconnected in parallel with each other and together in series betweenlines 81-1 and 80' with the normally opened contact 85-7 of return relay85.

The winding 67' of the door motor 67 is connected in series withnormally opened contact 87-1 of door control relay 87.

The winding 72 of the door brake release solenoid 72 is connected inseries with a door brake solenoid energizing circuit 110 between lines81-1 and 80'. The circuit 110 includes normally opened contact 87-2 ofdoor motor solenoid 87 connected in parallel with a series circuitconsisting of the normally opened contacts 85-8 of return solenoid 85and 75-5 of the teller carrier present limit switch 75.

The three phase windings 38 of the blower or turbo motor 38 are eachconnected between common line 80' and a different one of the three phasepower lines 81 through respective contacts -1, 100-2 and 100-3 of theturbo starter coil 100.

OPERATION IN NORMAL AUTOMATIC MODE In normal automatic operation, thepower switch 53 is turned on closing the contacts 53-] to energize thepower relay 83 which closes the contacts 83-1 connecting the common line80 with the common line 80 conditioning all of the circuits foroperation. When a customer approaches the customer unit 12, he pressesthe' call button 41 which sounds an audible device in the teller unit 12to alert the teller to the customers presence. At this time, a carrier14 is usually absent from the system and all limit switches arede-activated with the exception of the teller door open limit switchwhich is activated, the teller door 62 being in its opened condition.All of the relays and solenoids and motors are de-energized and thesystem is generally in the condition illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

The teller initiates automatic dispatch by placing a carrier 14 into thecarrier support 59. This actuates the teller carrier present limitswitch 75 which closes contact 75-1 in circuit 92, opens contact 7 5-2in circuit 93, opens contact 75-3 in circuit 97, opens contact 75-4 inseries with relay 87, and closes contacts 75-5 in circuit and 75-6 incircuit 104. The closure of contact 75-1 completes circuit 92 andenergizes relay 84, the dispatch relay. relay, This closes contact 84-1to complete the holding circuit 94 to hold the relay 84 in energizedcondition. Contact 84-2 opens. Contact 84-4 closes to energize thesolenoid windings 34' and 37' which connects the blower turbine 31 totube 13 in the exhaust or dispatch mode direction. Contact 84-3 alsocloses, which energizes the in-flight relay 86. This closes contacts86-1 and 86-2, and also 86-3 which energizes the turbo starter coil 100,which in turn closes starter contacts 100-1 through 100-3 to energizethe blower motor 38.

When the blower 31 operates, the carrier will move in the dispatchdirection through the tube 13. As the carrier 14 moves off of thesupport 59 the teller carrier present limit switch 75 will de-actuate.This will cause the door motor relay 87 to energize through contacts86-2 of the in-flight relay 86 and contacts 75-4 of the limit switch 75.This in turn closes the contacts 87-1, energizing the door motor winding67. This also closes contacts 87-2 which energizes the brake releasesolenoid 72. While the carrier 14 is in flight, the teller door 62 willclose, first de-activating the door open limit switch 77, then, uponclosure of the door 62, activating the door close limit switch 76 Whenthe carrier 14 arrives at the opening 22 of the customer station 12, thecustomer carrier present limit switch 42 is activated. This openscontacts 42-1, braking the holding circuit 94 to dispatch relay, causingit to de-energize. This also closes contacts 42-3 which energizes thedispatch-complete relay 88 through contact 76-1. The energizing of relay88 closes holding contact 88-2. It also closes contact 88-1 whichbypasses contact 86-2 which has been de-energized upon the opening ofcontacts 84-3. The de-energization of relay 86 deenergizes the startercoil 100 through the opening of contacts 86-3 and thereby turns off theturbo motor 38, and de-energizes solenoids 34 and 37' by breakingcontact 84-4. At this point, the carrier 14 is present awaiting removalby the customer from the customer unit 12.

When the customer removes the carrier from the unit 12, the customercarrier present limit switch 42 deactivates, opening contact 42-2 and42-3, closing contact 42-1, and closing contact 42-4 thereby energizingcarrier-removed relay 89 through contacts 88-3 of relay 88. This closescontact 89-2 in circuit 98, closes holding contact 89-3, and openscontact 89-1 in circuit 92.

When the customer returns the carrier 14 to the opening 22, here-activates limit switch 42 which opens contacts 42-1 and 42-4, closescontact 42-3, and closes contact 42-2 in the automatic return modeinitiating circuit 98, which energizes relay 85 through contacts 89-2,88-4 and 77-1. This re-energizes relay 86 through contacts 85-4 andactivates holding circuit 97 through contacts 85-3, 84-2, and 75-3.Contact 85-8 closes and contacts 85-2 and 85-6 open. This further closescontact 85-7 to energize the solenoids 35' and 36' to connect the blower31 in return direction. The energizing of relay 86 again activates theblower 31 by energizing the turbo starter coil 100. The energizing ofrelay 86 further closes contact 86-2 and closes contact 86-1. As thecarrier 14 moves from the tube extension 23, the customer carrierpresent limit switch 42 is released, closing contacts 42-1 and 42-4 andopening contacts 42-2 and 42-3, all having no immediate effect on theoperation.

The carrier 14 will continue to move toward the teller unit 11 and whenit arrives in the support 59 within the compartment 55 it will activatethe teller carrier present limit switch 75. This causes contact -1 toclose and contact 75-2 to open, both having no immediate effect, andcauses contact 75-6 to close which prevents premature drop-out of therelay 88. Contact 75-3 opens to break the holding circuit 97 to relay tode-energize the return relay 85. This will deenergize the solenoids 35and 36' and the in-flight relay 86 which in turn de-energizes thestarter coil to thereby de-energize the blower motor 31. The closure ofswitch 75 will open contact 75-4, de-energizing door motor relay 87,opening contact 87-1 to deenergize the door motor 67. This also closescontact 75-5 which will energize the door brake release solenoid 72' toallow the door 62 to drop. This de-activates the door closed limitswitch 76 to open contacts 76-1 and activates the door-open limit switch77, breaking contact 77-1, both having no immediate effect. At thispoint, all operations will have terminated and the teller can remove thecarrier through the opened compartment 60. As he does this he releasesthe teller carrier present limit switch 75 which restores all of itscontacts to their original positions. This opens contact 75-6 tode-energize relay 88. This opens circuit 104 to deenergize relay 88which, through the opening of contacts 88-3, de-energizes relay 89. Thiscloses contacts 89-1, restoring the automatic dispatch initiatingcircuit 92 to its initial condition. The entire circuit is at this timein the condition shown in FIG. 2.

OPERATION FOR LOOSE DOCUMENT RETRIEVAL At this time, upon inspecting thecontents of the carrier 14, the teller may discover that the contentsare missing which indicates that the customer has inadvertentlydeposited the documents directly into the extension portion 23 of thetube 13, rather than into the carrier 14. This means that some documents19 (FIG. 1) such as currency, checks, deposit slips, etc., have beendrawn into the tube 13 and are now loose somewhere in the tube betweenthe customer unit 12 and the teller unit 11. To recover these documents,the teller initiates the following procedure.

The teller sets the mode control switch 54 momentarily to the dispatchposition, which energizes the dispatch mode relay 84 through the contact75-2 of the circuit 93. This energizes the solenoid valves 34' and 37through contact 84-4 and the relay 86 through contact 84-3 whichenergizes the door close relay 87 through contacts 86-2 and 75-4. Thisin turn energizes the blower starter 100 through contact 86-3 whichstarts the blower motor 38, and also energizes the brake releasesolenoid 72 through contact 87-2 and door close motor 67' throughcontact 87-1. At this time, the teller manually holds the door in apartially opened position so that it will not completely close andprevent his access to the compartment 55. The teller must allow the doorto close at least partially so that the door open limit switch 77 isde-activated allowing contact 77-1 to close.

Contact 86-1 having closed by the energizing of relay 86, the teller caninitiate return mode by setting the switch 54 to the return position,closing contact 54-2 and thereby energizing relay 85 through the circuit99. This opens contact 85-2, braking the holding circuit 94 to relay 84,de-energizing it, and energizes the solenoid direction control valves 35and 36' while deenergizing the valves 34' and 37', thus causing theblower 31 to be operative in the return direction. This action willcause the documents to be blown from the tube into the compartment 55.The teller may then reach in to retrieve the documents. Since there isno carrier which can actuate switch 75 to signal the stopping of thesystem, it is necessary for the teller to momated pneumatic dispatchsystem or any system which is automated to the extent that a protectivedoor (e.g., 62) is provided at the teller unit to prevent injury to theteller due to the arriving carrier, that a system is provided whereinloose documents can be retrieved from the system provided that a certainnumber of steps are executed by the teller to cause the system tooperate in this manner. By provision for the number of steps and thedeliberate manner in which the steps must be executed to initiate thissafety override, the likelihood that the teller will inadvertentlyemploy this manual override with a carrier in the tube so as to resultin his injury is substantially reduced.

We claim:

1. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of apneumatic conveyor system including a pair of terminal units, a conveyortube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tubeand removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to forceair through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one ofsaid units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit forinsertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning theoperation of said blower to normally permit operation of the blower onlywith the door closed, said improved method comprising the steps of:

positioning the door in an open condition,

overriding said controls and initiating the operation of said blowerwhen said door is open, and operating said blower while said door isopen to move air through said conveyor tube until said loose documentsare blown to said one of said units.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said controls are operable tonormally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of acarrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of:

overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in theabsence of a carrier from said system.

3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said overriding step comprisesthe steps of:

manually holding said door in opened condition; and

manually initiating the operation of said blower.

4. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of apneumatic conveyor system including a pair of terminal units, a conveyortube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tubeand removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to forceair through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one ofsaid units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit forinsertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit, controls for normally closingsaid door when said blower is operating and for preventing operation ofsaid blower when said door is opened, said improved method comprisingthe steps of:

overriding said controls and initiating the operation of said blower,and then operating said blower with said door open to move air throughsaid conveyor tube until said loose documents are blown to said one ofsaid units.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein said controls are operable tonormally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of acarrier withinthe tube, said method further comprising the steps of;

overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in theabsence of a carrier from said system.

6. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of apneumatic conveyor of a drive-in bank system including a teller unitlocated in a bank building, a customer unit located adjacent a drive-inlane remote from said bank building, a conveyor tube extending betweensaid units, a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom,a blower, said blower being operable to force air through said tubetoward said customer unit when said system is operating in a dispatchmode, said blower being operable to force air through said tube towardsaid teller unit when said system is operating in a return mode,controls for effecting the operation of said system in said dispatch andreturn modes, a door at said teller unit, said door when openedpermitting access to said teller unit for insertion into and removalfrom said unit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access tosaid unit, and controls for closing said door during the operation ofsaid system, and for preventing the initiation of operation of saidsystem in said return mode when said door is opened, said improvedmethod comprising the steps of:

manually initiating at least a momentary operation of said system insaid dispatch mode, and then manually reversing the operation of saidsystem from said dispatch mode to said return mode, allowing said doorto partially close, then manually holding said door at least partiallyopened, operating said system in said return mode until said loosedocuments are blown to said teller unit, and then withdrawing saiddocuments through said opened door and manually terminating theoperation of said system.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein said con trols are operable tonormally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of acarrier within the tube, said method further comprising the steps of:

overriding said control to permit operation of said blower in theabsence of a carrier from said system.

8. In a pneumatic conveyor system which includes a pair of terminalunits, a conveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movablethrough said tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower beingoperable to force air through said tube toward one of said units, a doorat said one of said units, said door when opened permitting access tosaid unit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier,and when closed preventing access to said unit, and controls forconditioning the operation of energization system to normally permitsystem operation in said return mode only when said door is closed, theimprovement for retrieving loose documents from said tube comprismg:

means for overriding said controls to permit the operation of saidblower when said door is open,

means for initiating the operation of said blower, and

means for operating said blower to move air through said tube until saidloose documents are blown to said one of said units 9, The improvementaccording to claim 8 .wherein said controls are operable to normallycondition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrierwithin the tube, said improvement further comprising:

means for overriding said control to permit operationof said blower inthe absence of a carrier from said system.

10. A drive-in bank system comprising:

a teller unit located in a bank building;

a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bankbuilding;

a conveyor tube extending between said units;

a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom;

a blower operable to force air through said tube to ward said customerunit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable toforce air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system isoperating in a return mode;

a door at said teller unit movable between opened and closed positions,said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit forinsertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit;

an electrical control circuit for normally operating said systemautomatically in said disptach and return modes to transport saidcarrier between said units;

said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operationof said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one uponthe other; and

said control circuit including an interlock override circuit foroperating said system in said return mode with said door opened toretrieve loose documents from said tube.

11. A bank system according to claim 10 wherein:

said interlock circuit is operable to normally condition the operationof said blower on the presence of a carrier within the tube; and

said interlock override circuit is operable to permit operation of saidblower in the absence of a carrier from said system.

12. A drive-in bank system comprising:

a teller unit located in a bank building;

a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bankbuilding;

a conveyor tube extending between said units;

a carrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom;

a blower operable to force air through said tube toward said customerunit when said system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable toforce air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system isoperating in a return mode;

a door at said teller unit movable between opened and closed positions,said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit forinsertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit;

an electrical control circuit for normally operating said systemautomatically in said dispatch and return modes to transport saidcarrier between said units;

said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operationof said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one uponthe other;

said control circuit including first circuit means for initiating theoperation of said system in dispatch mode in response to the insertionof a carrier into said teller unit, second circuit means for causingsaid door to close in response to the actuation of said first circuitmeans, third circuit means initiating operation of said system in saidreturn mode only when said door is closed, and fourth circuit means forterminating operation of said system and conditioning such system forinitiation by said first circuit means and for permitting said door tobe opened during said return mode operation only when said carrier ispresent at said teller unit;

said control circuit including an interlock override circuit foroperating said system in said return mode with said door opened toretrieve loose documents from said tube; and

said interlock override circuit including a manual dispatch modeinitiating circuit connected in parallel with said first circuit meansfor initiating the operation of said system in the absence of a carriertherein, a manual return mode initiating circuit connected in parallelwith said third circuit means for causing operation of said system insaid return mode independent of the closed condition of said door, and amanual reset circuit operable to terminate operation of said system andto condition said system for initiation by said first circuit means inthe absence of a carrier at said teller unit.

1. An improved method for retrieving loose documents from the tube of apneumatic conveyor system including a pair of terminal units, a conveyortube extending between said units, a carrier movable through said tubeand removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operable to forceair through said tube toward one of said units, a door at said one ofsaid units, said door when opened permitting access to said unit forinsertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning theoperation of said blower to normally permit operation of the blower onlywith the door closed, said improved method comprising the steps of:positioning the door in an open condition, overriding said controls andinitiating the operation of said blower when said door is open, andoperating said blower while said door is open to move air through saidconveyor tube until said loose documents are blown to said one of saidunits.
 2. A method according to claim 1 wherein said controls areoperable to normally condition the operation of said blower on thepresence of a carrier within the tube, said method further comprisingthe steps of: overriding said control to permit operation of said blowerin the absence of a carrier from said system.
 3. A method according toclaim 1 wherein said overriding step comprises the steps of: manuallyholding said door in opened condition; and manually initiating theoperation of said blower.
 4. An improved method for retrieving loosedocuments from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor sYstem including a pairof terminal units, a conveyor tube extending between said units, acarrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom, a blower,said blower being operable to force air through said tube toward one ofsaid units, a door at said one of said units, said door when openedpermitting access to said unit for insertion into and removal from saidunit of said carrier, and when closed preventing access to said unit,controls for normally closing said door when said blower is operatingand for preventing operation of said blower when said door is opened,said improved method comprising the steps of: overriding said controlsand initiating the operation of said blower, and then operating saidblower with said door open to move air through said conveyor tube untilsaid loose documents are blown to said one of said units.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 4 wherein said controls are operable to normallycondition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrierwithin the tube, said method further comprising the steps of; overridingsaid control to permit operation of said blower in the absence of acarrier from said system.
 6. An improved method for retrieving loosedocuments from the tube of a pneumatic conveyor of a drive-in banksystem including a teller unit located in a bank building, a customerunit located adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building, aconveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable throughsaid tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operableto force air through said tube toward said customer unit when saidsystem is operating in a dispatch mode, said blower being operable toforce air through said tube toward said teller unit when said system isoperating in a return mode, controls for effecting the operation of saidsystem in said dispatch and return modes, a door at said teller unit,said door when opened permitting access to said teller unit forinsertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit, and controls for closing saiddoor during the operation of said system, and for preventing theinitiation of operation of said system in said return mode when saiddoor is opened, said improved method comprising the steps of: manuallyinitiating at least a momentary operation of said system in saiddispatch mode, and then manually reversing the operation of said systemfrom said dispatch mode to said return mode, allowing said door topartially close, then manually holding said door at least partiallyopened, operating said system in said return mode until said loosedocuments are blown to said teller unit, and then withdrawing saiddocuments through said opened door and manually terminating theoperation of said system.
 7. A method according to claim 6 wherein saidcontrols are operable to normally condition the operation of said bloweron the presence of a carrier within the tube, said method furthercomprising the steps of: overriding said control to permit operation ofsaid blower in the absence of a carrier from said system.
 8. In apneumatic conveyor system which includes a pair of terminal units, aconveyor tube extending between said units, a carrier movable throughsaid tube and removable therefrom, a blower, said blower being operableto force air through said tube toward one of said units, a door at saidone of said units, said door when opened permitting access to said unitfor insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit, and controls for conditioning theoperation of energization system to normally permit system operation insaid return mode only when said door is closed, the improvement forretrieving loose documents from said tube comprising: means foroverriding said controls to permit the operation of said blower whensaid door is open, means for initiating the operation of said blower,and means for operating said blower to move air through said tube untilsaid loose documents are blown to said one of said units.
 9. Theimprovement according to claim 8 wherein said controls are operable tonormally condition the operation of said blower on the presence of acarrier within the tube, said improvement further comprising: means foroverriding said control to permit operation of said blower in theabsence of a carrier from said system.
 10. A drive-in bank systemcomprising: a teller unit located in a bank building; a customer unitlocated adjacent a drive-in lane remote from said bank building; aconveyor tube extending between said units; a carrier movable throughsaid tube and removable therefrom; a blower operable to force airthrough said tube toward said customer unit when said system isoperating in a dispatch mode, and operable to force air through saidtube toward said teller unit when said system is operating in a returnmode; a door at said teller unit movable between opened and closedpositions, said door when opened permitting access to said teller unitfor insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, and whenclosed preventing access to said unit; an electrical control circuit fornormally operating said system automatically in said disptach and returnmodes to transport said carrier between said units; said control circuitincluding interlocks for conditioning the operation of said system insaid return mode and the closure of said door one upon the other; andsaid control circuit including an interlock override circuit foroperating said system in said return mode with said door opened toretrieve loose documents from said tube.
 11. A bank system according toclaim 10 wherein: said interlock circuit is operable to normallycondition the operation of said blower on the presence of a carrierwithin the tube; and said interlock override circuit is operable topermit operation of said blower in the absence of a carrier from saidsystem.
 12. A drive-in bank system comprising: a teller unit located ina bank building; a customer unit located adjacent a drive-in lane remotefrom said bank building; a conveyor tube extending between said units; acarrier movable through said tube and removable therefrom; a bloweroperable to force air through said tube toward said customer unit whensaid system is operating in a dispatch mode, and operable to force airthrough said tube toward said teller unit when said system is operatingin a return mode; a door at said teller unit movable between opened andclosed positions, said door when opened permitting access to said tellerunit for insertion into and removal from said unit of said carrier, andwhen closed preventing access to said unit; an electrical controlcircuit for normally operating said system automatically in saiddispatch and return modes to transport said carrier between said units;said control circuit including interlocks for conditioning the operationof said system in said return mode and the closure of said door one uponthe other; said control circuit including first circuit means forinitiating the operation of said system in dispatch mode in response tothe insertion of a carrier into said teller unit, second circuit meansfor causing said door to close in response to the actuation of saidfirst circuit means, third circuit means initiating operation of saidsystem in said return mode only when said door is closed, and fourthcircuit means for terminating operation of said system and conditioningsuch system for initiation by said first circuit means and forpermitting said door to be opened during said return mode operation onlywhen said carrier is present at said teller unit; said control circuitincluding an interlock override circuit for operating said system insaid return mode with said door opened to retrieve loose documents fromsaid tube; and said interlock override circuit including a manualdispatch mode initiating circuit connected in parallel with said firstcircuit means for initiating the operation of said system in the absenceof a carrier therein, a manual return mode initiating circuit connectedin parallel with said third circuit means for causing operation of saidsystem in said return mode independent of the closed condition of saiddoor, and a manual reset circuit operable to terminate operation of saidsystem and to condition said system for initiation by said first circuitmeans in the absence of a carrier at said teller unit.